Guide To DDT In Philadelphia

April 2, 2024

DDT “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada
2. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs Bryan Keith & Shota
3. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko
4. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Andrew “The Giant” Everett
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Shunma Katsumata
6. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Mike Bailey
7. DDT Universal Title – No Rules Match: MAO (c) Vs Billie Starkz

So you have tickets for DDT’s show in Philadelphia this week but you’re out of the loop on the current product. Maybe you only have surface level knowledge of DDT or just know it as that wacky wrestling company from Japan. Need a hand in knowing what to expect? Then here you go! It is the craziest week on the pro wrestling calander and DDT wouldn’t miss it for the world. They have a show going on in conjunction with The Collective mixing together their own talent with a few international guests who have worked with them before. Tiny bits and pieces of DDT can be found in Philadelphia’s history of independent wrestling. They have played parts in Chikara’s massive tag tournaments back when they were a yearly highlight of the East Coast indies. Things are a very, very different nowadays and DDT find themselves among a loaded week of shows going on. They even face competition from their own sister promotion Tokyo Joshi Pro. So what do they have to offer this time around? Let’s have a look.

When and where is the show taking place?

This week “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!” will be held at Penn’s Landing Caterers Auditorium in Philadelphia on 4th April. The show is scheduled to begin at 8:00pm Eastern time.

Where can I watch it online?

The show will air live on Triller TV (you know, FITE) with English commentary through the TrillerTV+ subscription service. The on-demand version of the show will be available to watch on Wrestle Universe sometime after the live broadcast.

Is this a proper DDT show?

It’s missing some of the big veteran players in order to highlight wrestlers from the modern generation but I think it’s a decent lineup. Sort of similar to what was offered last year where half the card focuses on DDT Vs The World. The mistake made last year was all of the wacky stuff being frontloaded to the first third of the show. The rest of the show wasn’t bad but doing so many regular matches in a row did not stand out the way people expect a DDT show would. So assuming this is the confirmed match order they made the right move to make sure the craziest match on paper is happening near the end. Two of the straight forward singles matches have the potential to be highlights of the week and also be suitable for those with a distaste for comedy wrestling.

Will The Steiner Brothers be at the show?

No.

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1. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada

DDT’s resident heel group opens up the show by getting into a fight with some young wrestlers who have high expectations to live up to based on their future potential. Daisuke Sasaki has been DDT’s main heel wrestler for years now but it’s been a while since he was put in main event level programs. His tag partner KANON has been getting more focus lately and might find himself getting placed into bigger spots on the card in the years to come. Nick Wayne is currently a heel in AEW but still gets to show off on the indies. Takeshi Masada fought Wayne on last year’s DDT USA show but they have gotten along since then and get to team with each other here.

Daisuke Sasaki – Is there any other heel out there as dirty and depressed as this guy? Sasaki is the leader of DAMNATION T.A and can never be counted out of the running no matter what he himself will tell people. He has the talent and success to reach bigger heights but every time there is a setback it sends him tumbling back down into despair. Maybe he will be in a better mood by the time this show takes place. He will be spending a week in Mexico beforehand looking for lucha libre shows to wrestle in. That’s one of the few experiences he has left nowadays that cheers him up.
Moves To Watch Out For: Crossface Lock (includes La Mistica and Crossover variations), Sasaki Hurricanrana, Diving Elbow Drop

KANON – Another heel wrestler with a habit of getting into some wild mood swings. KANON has been learning the DAMNATION ways under Sasaki’s wing for almost two years now. He started out in JTO and was trained by TAKA Michinoku. What could have been a promising young wrestler with a volleyball background has turned into a sadistic little creep. His main talent in the ring is how he uses the Cobra Twist to win his matches. He knows several ways to apply that hold and can adapt it to pin opponents as well as submit them.
Moves To Watch Out For: Sleepy Hollow (Twisting Brainbuster), Just Cobra Twist, Vietnam Driver II (Inverted Michinoku Driver)

Nick Wayne – At 18 years old he is one of the youngest wrestlers on the AEW roster but don’t worry, he has a father figure and family support behind him over there. The son of the late Buddy Wayne toured with DDT last year to get himself ready for his move to AEW. It just so happens that DDT has a bunch of young wrestlers too so Wayne has plenty of people from his generation to work with. There will come the day when Wayne is treated by the scene like a grizzled veteran with hundreds of matches under his belt while still being in his mid twenties. It’s a bright future that will only shine brighter once he flicks the switch and puts all the pieces together to become his own wrestler.
Moves To Watch Out For: Wayne’s World (Sprinboard Flying Cutter), Inverted Hurricanrana, Snap Dragon Suplex, Fisherman Suplex

Takeshi Masada – The 22 year old made his pro debut only three months into his training, making him the fastest debut in DDT’s history. Has a background in Shorinji Kempo and he uses those skills to develop a kick heavy offence. Motivated to a fault, Masada likes to take on challenges that go beyond his current standing in the company. Even if he’s not ready to for that kind of stuff, his kind of outside the box attitude made him a natural fit for SCHADENFREUDE International when that group was formed last November. Rookies have a bad habit of breaking easily but if Masada continues at the rate he’s going, DDT has themselves a diamond in the rough.
Moves To Watch Out For: Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (Cross-legged Falcon Arrow), Triangle Kick (Running Enzuigiri off the turnbuckles)

2. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs Bryan Keith & Shota

Fans of CCK will be delighted to hear the team is back together for one night only. Chris Brookes has been embracing his SCHADENFREUDE attitude again by putting together a DDT version of the group so teaming with Kid Lykos again must be like putting on an old comfy pair of slippers. Facing them is a mishmash team of two well travelled indie wrestlers from opposite corners of the world. Bryan Keith did well in his DDT appearances earlier this year. The match will also be Shota’s first bout since becoming a freelancer again. He’ll be looking to make a good impression to get his name out there. Too bad he’s going against a team that likes to take the piss out of their opponents.

Chris Brookes – An English wrestler who has carved out his own niche over in Japan by sticking his finger in a whole lot of pies. When not wrestling in DDT you can find Brookes causing trouble in ChocoPro, teaming with Masahiro Takanashi across southeast Asia or running his own group of crazy shows called Baka Gaijin + Friends that is held in a small Tokyo bar once a month. His love for a certain brand of Japanese wrestling gradually turned him into an essential figure in DDT, at one point even standing at the very top of the mountain. All of that takes a lot of work and effort though so lately he is taking a different direction and doing whatever he wants with his pro wrestling friends in SCHADENFREUDE International. But long before all of that happened, Brookes was once best known for being in a tag team with a shitty little wolf.
Moves To Watch Out For: Praying Mantis Bomb (Double Arm Piledriver), Octopus Stretch, Death By Roll-Up

Kid Lykos – That shitty little wolf has grown up a little bit. The British wrestling scene was in a dire state coming out of the pandemic but one key figure who stuck with it through thick and thin was Kid Lykos. Along the way he found another Kid Lykos to team with, got to fight Brookes in a dramatic match between friends and lose his mask on the way to finally obtaining singles glory by becoming the Progress World Champion. He got a brief tour with DDT in Japan during 2022 and that was the last time CCK teamed together. Until now that is.
Moves To Watch Out For: Captain Midnight’s Revenge (Swanton Bomb), Brainbuster, Casanova (Somato), Triple Back Drop

Bryan Keith – This bounty hunter has been making some waves lately. It’s an intimidating sight seeing the man wearing the Black Halo come to town looking to collect. That kind of mercenary life has taken Keith from Texas to all points of America before sending him over to Japan. A stay in DDT at the start of the year allowed him to sharpen his skills further before moving on to AEW where he currently resides. The bounty hunter aesthetic hides a clear love for Japanese pro wrestling. His moveset along with where in the ring he likes to attack are dead giveaways to what his in-ring influences are.
Moves To Watch Out For: Emerald Tiger Driver, Exploder Suplex (sometimes into the turnbuckles), Power Bomb, Knee Strike

Shota – He is a long time journeyman of the Japanese indies and for many years wrestled for Ganbare☆Pro, a spin-off promotion from DDT that until now was also under the CyberFight banner. But big changes have come for him this year. GanPro has gone independent from CyberFight and Shota decided he too will live the independent life once more. One of his first big moves as a freelancer is take some American dates starting with this one. In his previous American excursions he wrestlers for some of the most obscure indies I’ve ever heard of. “Mr. Showtime” is a savvy veteran who thinks one step ahead to outsmart his opponents.
Moves To Watch Out For: Gannosuke Clutch, Frog Splash, Sharpshooter

3. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko

You’re getting classic DDT right here! Kazuki Hirata is a cult favourite for both his comedy act as well as his underdog performances against much stronger opponents. In a way they don’t come much stronger than Yoshihiko. The battle doll is one of DDT’s most infamous gimmicks known worldwide. You ever hear in interviews when a pro wrestler is described as being so good they can have a four star match against a paper bag? Yoshihiko is that theory put into practice. And trust me, Hirata understands how to wrestle against Yoshihiko more than almost anyone else.

Kazuki Hirata – You know when a parody outlives the source material and probably becomes more well known to modern audiences than the original? I think that applies to Hirata. Puro fans might remember one of Dragongate’s early stars was Magnum TOKYO. A key part of Magnum’s presentation was him dancing to his entrance song “Tokyo GO!”. His career in the Toryumon system lasted around a decade. Long after Magnum disappeared from the wrestling industry the DG dojo dropout Hirata took over the gimmick as a spoof in DDT. He’s been doing it since 2014 and I think he has now danced to “Tokyo GO!” for longer than Magnum has! Hirata has been around almost 15 years but remains one of the weakest fighters in DDT. But what he lacks in physical talent he makes up for with a crafty and creative mind. Also he carries around a pair of Hirata GO! glasses that when worn automatically plays “Tokyo GO!” in the room and drives the wearer to dance along to it. It rarely helps Hirata win a match but it’s always a crowd pleaser. What often does work for Hirata is the Miracle One Shot Cradle, a Small Package with a strong success rate especially when Hirata is at his most desperate.
Moves To Watch Out For: Miracle One Shot Cradle (Small Package), Egoist Driver (Pumphandle Michinoku Driver), Sliding Kick, Tegatana (a deadly martial arts chop to the neck)

Yoshihiko – The Grave Digger Doll From Hell has been a mysterious force in DDT for almost two decades now. It first showed up as the brother of Muscle Sakai and kept on replacing him in matches because Sakai was constantly getting injured from gun violence backstage (it’s a long story). Yoshihiko vanished after that storyline ended and would reappear years later as Danshoku Dieno’s surprise tag team partner. Over time the doll’s powers have only gotten stronger and it has the ability to transform into powerful wrestlers like The Great Muta, The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan. You can rip it limb from limb and it will survive. You can drive over it in a car and it will survive. You can throw it off a building and it will survive. To fight Yoshihiko is almost like fighting yourself. Only then can you discover your true talent as a pro wrestler.
Moves To Watch Out For: Reincarnation (multiple rotations into a Hurricanrana), Canadian Destroyer, Yoshihiko Destroyer (multiple Canadian Destroyers in a row)

4. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Andrew “The Giant” Everett

A battle of the high flyers that has the potential to turn into a game of one-upmanship. Tetsuya Endo is far away from being the top guy in DDT like he was a few years ago. Instead he is finding success in the tag team division at the moment. He is somebody who has needed a change of scenery for a while now so hopefully a match like this in America can be a fresh breath of air. His opponent Andrew Everett hasn’t gotten to wrestle in Japan again since his DDT tour in 2022 when they discovered he might not actually be a giant. That’s what you get for lying about your height! But if he really is a giant then he will assert his dominance over Endo no problem. If not then we get to see Endo turn into a giant slayer instead.

Tetsuya Endo – Once the top wrestler in DDT, a disastrous concussion caused by a shoot slap from Katsuhiko Nakajima resulted in a major setback for Endo’s career. While he has yet to become the No. 1 guy in the company again he has regained some success by winning the KO-D Tag Team Titles with Yuki Iino. Endo is currently the leader of BURNING, which is DDT’s attempt at making a current day version of the unit that has roots going back to NOAH and All Japan. He often has Kenta Kobashi’s blessing to represent that legacy and often meets with him to discuss ways to progress his career. With a greay physique and a lot of athleticism, Endo on paper has all of the tools to be a big star. It just never worked out for him that way, especially when you see where his rival is now. But that is not who he has to worry about here.
Moves To Watch Out For: Burning Star Press (Shooting Star Press), Tetsuya In The Sky (One Man Spanish Fly), Spinning Torture Rack Bomb

Andrew “The Giant” Everett – Can you believe there are rumours out there that Everett is not a giant? I know, right! He climbs into the ring by stepping over the top rope like giants do. He does Choke Slams his opponents like giants do. He wears a singlet like giants do. He does Moonsaults like Paul White allegedly did. That means Everett is a giant! Deadlock Pro is where you can find him nowadays. He’s wrestled in DDT before but perhaps his biggest accomplishment in Japan is from NewLegacyInc when his abuse of the Loser Leaves Town rule accidentally resulted in multiple clones of himself and Jun Akiyama being created.
Moves To Watch Out For: 630 Senton, Shooting Star Press, Moonsault, Choke Slam, Pelé Kick

5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Shunma Katsumata

The top babyface group in DDT right now is The 37KAMIINA (“The Sauna Kamiina” because 37 in Japanese sounds similar to sauna and Kamiina is what the stoves are called) and Konosuke Takeshita was originally a member until he turned heel in AEW. Over time he has fought against his friends in separate singles matches and now the time has come for Shunma Katsumata to fight him. Is he up to the task against someone who is approaching best in the world territory?

Konosuke Takeshita – No matter where his career in AEW will take him, Takeshita will always have a home in DDT. He’s kind of living a double life because in AEW he is a heel under the increasingly questionable management of Don Callis. That is why DDT now writes his name in English with all upper case letters. Whenever he comes back to Japan he gets to be more like himself, a good boy who can German Suplex anything. He was part of The 37KAMIINA for a long time but left the group to follow his new career path in America. That means he gets to fight against his buddies but it is ultimately being done with good intentions. Matches like these are done so he can push his friends into improving themselves. If is takes smashing them in the face with his knees and elbows to get that message across then so be it.
Moves To Watch Out For: Spinning Falcon Arrow, Powerdrive Knee/Wagamama (V-Trigger style Knee Strike), German Suplex, Blue Thunder Bomb, Takeshita Line (Leaping Clothesline from the ropes)

Shunma Katsumata – Nobody in DDT loves saunas as much as this guy. Don’t let his hobby or his eternally youthful looks fool you though. Katsumata can get crazy violent whenever he wants. He is currently the DDT Extreme Champion, a belt that allows the holder to come up with whatever stipulation they want for their title defences. Just to give an example his most recent defence was called the Painful Jungle Death Match and it was DDT’s bloodiest bout in a long, long time. Yet there are also times when his weapons of choice are Lego and party poppers. The odd strain in Takeshita’s relationship with The 37KAMIINA has ended up with Katsumata being next to fight him. The situation is probably not violent enough for Super Hardcore Katsumata to appear. How he handles this match will depend on how much he will want to take it seriously.
Moves To Watch Out For: ¡Hasta la vista! (Lightning Spiral), Totonou Splash (straight Diving Body Press), Aufguss (Diving Foot Stomp to a standing opponent)

6. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Mike Bailey

At the time of writing this match is a non-title bout yet I’m sure these two are going to have a match like it is one. We don’t get to see much of Mike Bailey in DDT anymore. Speedball has one of the more demanding looking schedules going in wrestling right now. He was around while Yuki Ueno was still in the early years of his career and Ueno is a far more developed wrestler now. When it comes to personality I don’t have much to say about Ueno unfortunately. As a wrestler though he is walking the walk as the current KO-D Openweight Champion. These two against each other can tear the house down if they don’t hold back.

Yuki Ueno – The current KO-D Champion which makes him the man to beat in DDT. Ueno has known Takeshita since they were high school classmates together. It was Takeshita’s journey into pro wrestling that convinced Ueno to follow him and give it a go. For most of his career that meant Ueno was stuck standing in his friend’s shadow. However Takeshita leaving DDT for AEW could not have been any more of a benefit for Ueno. Driven to become the ace of DDT, Ueno climbed the ladder and won the KO-D Title at Sumo Hall last November. Since then he has purposely defended the championship against wrestlers who are closely connected to DDT whether they are past aces, beloved personalities or even important management behind the scenes. He does this in order to prove that he is the best person to carry the company forward.
Moves To Watch Out For: BME (Best Moonsault Ever), WR (Rolling Wrist-Clutch Blockbuster), Jul.2 (Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher), Half Nelson Suplex, Dropkick to the Face

Mike Bailey – There’s been a couple of talented Canadian wrestlers who became big deals in DDT. You can count Speedball among that elite group. Nowadays he is signed to TNA but you never have to look far throughout the North American indies to find him wrestling on the card. Go look up his schedule for the weekend, he has like half a dozen bookings and four of them are on the same day! Bailey has been in the ring with Ueno a bunch of times but never in a singles match together. How this guy hasn’t destroyed his knees yet from the apron bumps in every match I will never know.
Moves To Watch Out For: Ultima Weapon (Shooting Star Double Knee Drop), Flamingo Driver (Cross-Legged One-Winged Angel), Green Tea Plunge (Standing Moonsault Fall Away Slam), Machine Gun Kicks

7. DDT Universal Title – No Rules Match: MAO (c) Vs Billie Starkz

The only title match on the show is going to be off the wall. The DDT Universal Title is a secondary championships that was intentionally created to be defended overseas in order to promote the company abroad. The current holder MAO is eager to go that direction at a time when he as a performer has never been better. When he set his sights on having a title match in Philadelphia, DDT thought outside the box and picked Billie Starkz as his challenger. If her tempo matches with MAO’s then the whole building is going to be left in a mess by the time the show is over.

MAO – Lives by the motto “Fucked up wrestling for a fucked up world!” The high flier feels at his most alive when he is in Falls Count Anywhere situations. He is still immature but in the past year has figured out his own vision for pro wrestling. With that also comes a newly found confidence in his abilities. The result is him becoming a multiple time Universal Champion with a desire to spread DDT and defend the belt around the world. Putting him in the city where extreme wrestling flourished is just asking for trouble. This is a guy who likes wrestling in Circle 6 shows for God’s sake!
Moves To Watch Out For: Cannonball 450 (450 Splash), Michinoku Driver, Marines Tornado Splash (Swan Dive Phoenix Splash), Tornado Kick

Billie Starkz – A busy WrestleMania Week scheduled? Why not add a championship match held under no rules to the diary? From what I’ve seen of Billie Starkz over the years a match like this is a chance for her to blow off some steam and just go out there doing some nutty stuff for fun. Just don’t let Athena know what she’s getting up to while she’s on her own. You can’t replace Minions In Training that easily. Starkz has wrestled for TJPW before but this will be her first time stepping into a DDT ring. I’m sure she’ll feel right at home.
Moves To Watch Out For: Swanton Bomb, Sugoi Driver (Double Legged One-Winged Angel sometimes on the ring apron), Starkz Driver (Tombstone Piledriver), Star 10 (CRII)

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There will be other chances to see a few DDT wrestlers in action across Philadelphia that week. Mainly MAO. You are going to get a lot of MAO.


CIRCLE 6 “NEW FEAR CITY”, 03/04/2024
The Fire, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Chris Brookes Vs X
2. MAO Vs X

Let’s get started with Wrestlemania Week! Out of all the DDT wrestlers heading to Philadelphia it will be MAO who has the lion’s share of bookings. On the Wednesday night he and Chris Brookes are both going to a No Ring show held at a nightclub by Circle 6. It’s a dangerous way to begin one of the most schedule intense weeks of the wrestling calander.


DEFY “CAN’T DENY IT”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs MAO & Mike Bailey

Thursday is even nuttier. MAO has four bookings in one day! It begins with a DEFY show where MAO and Mike Bailey reunite as Moonlight Express to face CCK.


SHP/LOL “EUPHORIA”, 04/04/2024
Attic Brewing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Matt Makowski Vs MAO

When the DEFY match is done with MAO then goes over to another venue where he will wrestle Matt Makowski. On paper that sounds like a straight forward match but some really wacky things have happened at Sean Henderson Presents shows in the past. Don’t let your guard down, MAO.


GCW/JCW “GCW/JCW VS THE WORLD”, 04/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Shota Vs X
2. 4 Way Tag Match: Ciclope & Miedo Extremo Vs Robert Dreissker & Laurance Roman Vs Man Like DeReiss & Leon Slater Vs MAO & Yoshihiko

The final show of the day if you go by the starting time being in the very last minute (yeah right like it won’t be delayed). GCW and its sister promotion JCW have invited the world to take them on. MAO & Yoshihiko will be joining forces to enter a 4 Way Tag Match against GCW’s top team from Mexico Los Macizos, the wXw duo from Germany Amboss and Britain’s own Boisterous Behaviour from NORTH Wrestling.

Also on the show is Shota taking his first independent booking since going freelance from GanPro. His match has not been announced yet. Since this is a GCW show it will probably be a Scramble Match since there are a bunch of other wrestlers also advertised with no match yet.


GCW “JJSB: CLUSTERF*CK FOREVER!”, 06/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Clusterfuck Match: X Vs X

I’m including this because there are apparently going to be 88 contestants entering this year’s annual Clusterfuck Match. Surely that means the odds are good for a few DDT wrestlers showing up somewhere on the show?


DDT “SPRING BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 2” Results

March 26, 2024

DDT “SPRING BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 2”, 26/03/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
336 Fans

1. Takeshi Masada & Yuni defeated Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi when Masada pinned Sumi with the Masada No Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (7:00).
2. Chris Brookes, Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani defeated Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul when Okatani pinned KANON with a Sliding Lariat (11:31).
3. Tetsuya Endo & Toru Owashi (w/ Furitsuke Kamen) defeated Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda when Endo pinned Honda with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (8:40).
4. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Semi Final: Rukiya defeated Munetatsu Nakamura with the Proto Bomb (6:54).
5. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Semi Final: To-y defeated Ilusion with the Kojima Impact (8:53).
6. Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya when Matsunaga pinned Iino with a Crucifix Pin (14:05).
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata defeated Akito, HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno when Ueno pinned Akito with a Figure 4 Leg Lock Cutback (23:25).

The spring edition of Beer Garden ended with Yuki Ueno getting a lucky break against Akito. Ueno’s legs were targeted again and Akito put him in a Figure 4 Leg Lock. Extra damage was done when Danshoku Dieno gave Shunma Katsumata the Danshoku Driver on top of Ueno’s chest while he was still in the hold. However when Akito grabbed Ueno by the arm to apply more pressure, Ueno pulled himself up and rolled on top of Akito, pinning his shoulders on the mat for the three count. Akito didn’t mind losing though. He knows his plan of weakening Ueno with limb work match after match is working. He said at Korakuen Hall he was going to poison him and this is what he meant!

In an upset Tomomitsu Matsunaga pinned Yuki Iino! A lot of the tag match had Iino spend time fighting Jun Akiyama and when it came to facing Matsunaga he wasn’t having any trouble. That was until Matsunaga dodged a Lariat and trapped Iino in a Crucifix Pin for the victory. Akiyama praised Matsunaga for the veteran like move because beating a champion is always a big deal no matter how it is done. Iino was mad at the result but Tetsuya Endo got him to calm down. They will get their revenge at the KO-D Tag Team Titles match on 7th April. Matsunaga overheard them playing down the result and took offence. He wants every match to matter and the Tag Titles should not belong to anyone who thinks otherwise.

The D GENERATIONS CUP final on 7th April will be between Rukiya and To-y. Rukiya beat Munetatsu Nakamura to get there while To-y had to get past Ilusion. Rukiya said he will definitely win to prove he is DDT’s strongest young wrestler. To-y promised he will show everyone just how much he has evolved in order to go even higher.

Things went a little bit weird for the match with Furitsuke Kamen in it. Kazuki Hirata is supposed to be the only one in DDT who dances and took offence to Kamen showing up. So for the match he wore black eyeliner to intimidate his opponents (I think he might have been doing Genki Horiguchi’s heel poses too) while Antonio Honda carried a giant inflatable stag beetle to the ring, holding it hostage because Endo loves collecting beetles. Kamen wanted to pause the match so he could lead everyone to a dance but Hirata grabbed him from behind and pulled his mask off. Honda put it on and declared himself to be Chin Chin Mask. When the Gongitsune spot backfired Kamen got his mask back and Endo pinned Honda with the Torture Rack Bomb. After the match Honda learned his lesson and said insects are not tools for conflict. Kamen then got all of the wrestlers to dance with him.

Match #2 had some outside brawling going on with Hideki Okatani and KANON as the focal point even though MJ Paul drove a van into Chris Brookes & Kazusada Higuchi. Back in the ring Daisuke Sasaki tried to give Higuchi the Nenbutsu Power Bomb as used by Jinsei Shinzaki but Brookes stopped him by making him drink beer until Higuchi could regain his senses and do a Back Body Drop counter. Then Paul made Brookes drink the beer. After all of this happened the focus returned to Okatani against KANON and Okatani won with a Sliding Lariat. That didn’t stop the two of them from still fighting each other after the match. When they were pulled apart Okatani made a promise to beat KANON with the Quetzalcoatl. KANON mocked him and said the reason why DDT isn’t promoting the King Of DDT stipulation for their upcoming singles match is because the company doesn’t have high expectations that Okatani will win!


Hi69 Coming Back To DDT, GCW Vs TJPW Card, “No Spoiler” Matches

March 23, 2024

DDT “SPRING BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 2”, 26/03/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. 3 Way Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON (w/ MJ Paul) Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani
2. Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya Vs Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. D GENERATIONS CUP Tag Match: Yuni & Yuya Koroku Vs Kazuma Sumi & Tsubasa Suzuki
4. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Semi Final: Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Rukiya
5. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Semi Final: To-y Vs Ilusion
6. Tetsuya Endo & Toru Owashi (w/ Furitsuke Kamen) Vs Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Akito, HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno

The D GENERATIONS CUP semi finals are To-y Vs Ilusion and Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Rukiya. The winners of those matches will meet in the final on 7th April.

The card has been changed around a little bit to add Tomomitsu Matsunaga into the same match as Jun Akiyama since the two of them will be challenging for the KO-D Tag Team Titles soon. One half of the champs Yuki Iino gets to test them out as a team first.

The opening match is also changed from a 6-Man Tag to a 3 Way Tag. Chris Brookes wasn’t booked on the show yet so he gets added here while MJ Paul is relegated from being in the match to standing at ringside for DAMNATION T.A. That’s a bit weird but okay.

DDT “APRIL FOOL 2024 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 30/03/2024
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata & Kazuma Sumi
2. HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Akito Vs Yukio Naya, Soma Takao & Yuya Koroku
3. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Jun Akiyama & Rukiya
4. Special Single Match: Hideki Okatani Vs KANON
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Yuni Vs Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Takeshi Masada
6. Special Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata & Ilusion Vs Hi69 & Yasu Urano

The Hardcore Match for the DDT Extreme Title gets previewed here when Shunma Katsumata and Hi69 collide in tag team action. Hi69 is bringing along Yasu Urano to form a team straight out of the old K-DOJO days. Katsumata will be teaming with Ilusion. The masked wrestler is gradually getting booked more by DDT which is good to see. This will be a good challenge for him.

The fighting between Hideki Okatani and KANON during the first night of Beer Garden did not stop after their match was over. When they were finally pulled apart Okatani demanded KANON to fight him in a singles match. When the match was confirmed to go ahead, Okatani then went on Twitter and challenged KANON to put his King Of DDT spot on the line. If Okatani wins he takes KANON’s place in the tournament. In return Okatani has an idea for a punishment in mind for himself should he lose. He hasn’t said what it is yet but KANON is intrigued enough to risk gambling his tournament spot away.

GCW/TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GCW VS TJPW”, 06/04/2024
Penns Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Suzume Vs Pom Harajuku
2. Session Moth Martina Vs Raku
3. Dark Sheik Vs Yuki Kamifuku
4. Steph De Lander Vs Hyper Misao
5. Shazza McKenzie Vs Arisu Endo
6. Sawyer Wreck & Allie Katch Vs Mizuki & Nao Kakuta
7. Billie Starkz & Janai Kai Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
8. Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Rina Yamashita, Masha Slamovich & Maki Itoh Vs Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino

The GCW Vs Tokyo Joshi Pro full match lineup is here and… uh… yeah… There is an audience out there that’s into this card. I’m not part of it outside of the main event. Maybe the other two top matches as well if everybody involved all click together on the day. I’ll have a preview for the show written up along with one for “TJPW LIVE IN PHILLY” a little after next week. I’ve already written most of it already because so much is happening at the end of March and the start of April.

DDT “APRIL FOOL 2024”, 07/04/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. No Gamble FINAL!: Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Toru Owashi Vs X
2. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Final: X Vs X
3. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Chihiro Hashimoto
4. DDT Extreme Title – Hardcore Match: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Hi69
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
6. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes

The reason why Matsunaga was chosen by Akiyama to be his partner is because of his work ethic behind the scenes. Matsunaga only wrestles part-time in DDT nowadays, usually as a substitute for someone who can’t be at the show for whatever reason. However he keeps himself in shape and is always ring ready when he does get called up as a replacement. Akiyama appreciates that and wants to see if that work ethic can be converted into a championship win for them.

DDT “SPOILER FREE SHOW VOL. 1”, 21/04/2024
Kanagawa Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market

1. Different Martial Arts Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku Vs Akito Nishigaki & Hayabucha
2. 1 Vs 2 Special Handicap Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
3. Special Tag Match: Danshoku Dieno & Rukiya Vs Yuki Iino & Takeshi Masada

The gimmick for this show is that no information about what happens is allowed to be posted online until after midnight. That won’t be much of a problem for me because where I am I just have to wait until after 4pm local time to start looking up the results. That’s not out of the ordinary for me with the regular show results and reports.

A forbidden in-ring reunion for Danshoku Dieno and Yuki Iino. The two former members of Pheromones will face each other for the first time since the unit’s split back in October of last year.

DDT’s top wrestler of the moment Yuki Ueno has to fight both Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda by himself. Is that really much of a challenge for him though?

Four different athletic backgrounds clash in a “martial arts” tag match. Tetsuya Endo represents rhythmic gymnastics, Yuya Koroku is junior high amateur wrestling, Akito is high school amateur wrestling and HARASHIMA goes back to his college club student pro wrestling roots by becoming Hayabucha again. At least I assume it’s going to be HARASHIMA under the mask here.


DDT “SPRING BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 1” Results

March 21, 2024

DDT “SPRING BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 1”, 21/03/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
311 Fans

1. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Round 1: Ilusion defeated Yuni with a Modified Dragon Sleeper (8:32).
2. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Round 1: To-y defeated Tsubasa Suzuki with the Kojima Impact (5:07).
3. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Round 1: Munetatsu Nakamura defeated Kazuma Sumi with a Modified German Suplex (6:50).
4. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Round 1: Rukiya defeated Yuya Koroku with the Proto Bomb (9:12).
5. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul defeated HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani when KANON submitted Okatani with the Ground Cobra Twist (8:47).
6. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino defeated Yoshitatsu & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Iino pinned Matsunaga with the Spear (10:53).
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada defeated Danshoku Dieno, Yoshihiko & Pokotan when Brookes pinned Pokotan with a School Boy (17:19).
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata defeated Akito, Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuki Hirata when Ueno pinned Hirata with the WR (19:22).

As the build begins towards the next KO-D Openweight Title match, Akito believes his mindset behind the preview tag matches is different from Yuki Ueno’s. Sure these kind of matches are done to create buzz and help the wrestlers get into their best condition for the big match. But here Akito is using these matches to try and break Ueno down. He aims to focus on picking Ueno apart limb by limb if he wants any chance of winning the title on26th April. That plan is not off to a good start though. Ueno got the win today and is feeling pretty good about it.

A lot of the semi-main event was spent outside the ring because the two teams decided it was now Falls Count Anywhere. During the brawl Takeshi Masada reversed a van over Yoshihiko and kept the vehicle parked on top of it. Danshoku Dieno filled up an inflatable mini pool at ringside with water, alcohol and any other liquid he could find. He then gave Masada a Back Body Drop into the pool. Yoshihiko returned from underneath the van and did a balcony dive onto SCHADENFREUDE International. After getting soaked in water, Antonio Honda tripped down some steps. Chris Brookes then ended the match by pinning Pokotan next to the steps. SCHADENFREUDE celebrated by taking away Pokotan’s head.

Tomomitsu Matsunaga stepped in as a last minute replacement for Makoto Oishi after Oishi injured his neck yesterday. Although Matsunaga dropped the fall and lost the match against BURNING, his efforts did not go unnoticed. Jun Akiyama decided that Matsunaga will be his partner when he challenges BURNING for the KO-D Tag Team Titles on 7th April! Akiyama later explained Matsunaga does so much good work behind the scenes and keeps himself in good shape for the few times he gets to wrestle. If BURNING defeats those two then they might have to worry about Yoshitatsu next. He is also putting the word out that he wants to win KO-D Tag Titles.

Some beer drinking was done by the wrestlers in Match #5 leading to some different situations. Daisuke Sasaki offered HARASHIMA a beer and then attacked him. They fought out in the crowd where HARASHIMA could get a drink after all. They both got back into the ring with Yukio Naya and MJ Paul for a Sumo contest. KANON used the Cobra Twist to roll Hideki Okatani’s shoulders down on the canvas to pin him for the three count. The two kept fighting after the match and had to be pulled apart. Okatani was still mad so he challenged KANON to a singles match.

The opening round of the D GENERATIONS CUP filled up the first half of the show. Ilusion defeated Yuni by submission in the latest match of their rivalry, To-y beat the intern Tsubasa Suzuki, the Ganbare☆Pro rookie Munetatsu Nakamura eliminated Kazuma Sumi and Rukiya scored an upset win over Yuya Koroku. The semi finals on 26th March will be Ilusion Vs To-y and Nakamura Vs Rukiya.


VP Akito Gets The Next Title Shot, DDT USA Full Card, April Shaping Up

March 18, 2024

BASARA “BASARA 244 ~UTAGE~”, 19/03/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Lil’ Kraken Vs Fuminori Abe
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Gouma Ryu Vs Takato Nakano & Yasu Urano Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
3. Takumi Tsukamoto, SAGAT & Judomaster Vs FUMA, KUBITO & Daichi Kazato
4. Isami Kosaka Vs Kazusada Higuchi
5. Union MAX Title: Minoru Fujita (c) Vs Masato Kamino

It looks like Judomaster is here to stay for as long as Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi is suffering from that dreaded love sickness. Curse that illness!

DDT “SPRING BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 1”, 21/03/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Makoto Oishi & Yoshitatsu
2. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani
3. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Round 1D: Yuya Koroku Vs Rukiya
4. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Round 1C: Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Kazuma Sumi
5. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Round 1B: To-y Vs Tsubasa Suzuki
6. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Round 1A: Yuni Vs Ilusion
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada Vs Danshoku Dieno, Yoshihiko & Pokotan
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Akito, Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuki Hirata

We begin the preview tag matches between Yuki Ueno and Akito and also start this year’s D GENERATIONS CUP.

DDT “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!”, 04/04/2024
Penn’s Landing Caterers Auditorium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

1. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada
2. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos Vs Bryan Keith & Shota
3. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko
4. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Andrew “The Giant” Everett
5. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Shunma Katsumata
6. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Mike Bailey
7. DDT Universal Title – No Rules Match: MAO (c) Vs Billie Starkz

The headline match for Philadelphia is definitely the craziest one on the list. MAO’s current DDT Universal Title reign is inspiring him to go out and set the world ablaze. Billie Starkz will be waiting for him at Wrestlemania Week and might be tempted to outdo whatever MAO comes up with.

Andrew Everett is already saying what the selling point of his match against Tetsuya Endo will be. Who has the better Shooting Star Press?

Last year we got to see Nick Wayne and Takeshi Masada gel together whenever Wayne appeared in DDT. That relationship started in America as opponents and will continue in America this time as a team against DAMNATION T.A.

DDT “APRIL FOOL 2024”, 07/04/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. No Gamble FINAL!: Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Toru Owashi Vs X
1. D GENERATIONS CUP 2024 – Final: X Vs X
2. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Chihiro Hashimoto
3. DDT Extreme Title – Hardcore Match: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Hi69
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & X
5. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes

BURNING is now a few months into life without Jun Akiyama guiding them. According to Endo the time is now for he and Yuki Iino to face Akiyama head on. They want to defend the KO-D Tag Team Titles against him and anyone else. Akiyama isn’t going to team with anyone else from D.O.A so who could it be? Another wrestler from BURNING’s history? Somebody Akiyama knows from AEW?

At last NOAH is crossing over into DDT a little bit more. Hi69 from the TEAM NOAH unit is interested in challenging for the DDT Extreme Title and will go through a Hardcore Match in order to win it. Shunma Katsumata is a little annoyed at how little Hi69 knows what the championship is all about. It’s more than just your typical Hardcore Title. Also it’s up to the champion to choose the match stipulation. Katsumata is willing to fight on Hi69’s terms to prove his point.

DDT “DDT X ZEEKSTAR TOKYO SPECIAL PERFORMANCE ~ DDZT”, 26/04/2024
Tokyo Sumida Ward General Gymnasium

1. Keigo Nakamura Return Match: Keigo Nakamura Vs X
2. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Akito

There’s been a specific list of wrestlers Yuki Ueno wanted to defend the KO-D Openweight Title against in order to establish himself as the new ace of the company. He has just one more name to tick off and that is Akito. While the match does not sound like a major contest on paper, Akito is somebody who eats, sleeps and breathes DDT 24/7 while working as the company’s vice president. If beating Ueno for the KO-D Title is what it takes for Akito to prove how much he loves the company more than anyone else then so be it.

D.O.A ended the existence of Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor over the weekend and now find themselves under threat by DAMNATION T.A. Remember, the current KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions made a deal with each other to disband once they lose the titles. It could happen here.

After being out of action with injury for almost a year, Keigo Nakamura will return to the ring a the end of April. Hopefully he got his right knee sorted this time because it’s an injury that has hampered his wrestling career right when it started to pick up.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”, 21/07/2024
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs X

There will be a couple more KO-D Title defences going on between April and July so who knows who will be the defending champion when DDT returns to Sumo Hall.

Both Konosuke Takeshita and El Desperado will be on the show.


DDT “JUDGEMENT 2024 ~27TH ANNIVERSARY 5 HOUR SPECIAL~” Results

March 17, 2024

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2024 ~27TH ANNIVERSARY 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 17/03/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,491 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. “Intern Wrestler” Tsubasa Suzuki Debut Match: Soma Takao defeated Tsubasa Suzuki with the Perfect Driver (9:08).
2. Yuya Koroku Return Match: To-y, Ilusion & Rukiya defeated Yuni, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi when To-y pinned Koroku with the Kojima Impact (8:42).
3. Keisuke Ishii & Shinichiro Kawamatsu defeated Toru Owashi & Gorgeous Matsuno when Ishii pinned Matsuno with the Double Arm Driver (9:26).
4. Special Single Match: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Akito ended in a Draw when both of them fell asleep (7:20).
5. SCHADENFREUDE International Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul defeated Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda when KANON submitted Honda with the Just Cobra Twist (11:21).
6. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka defeated Sanshiro Takagi with the Spear Of Flame (10:32).
7. Special Tag Match: Shuji Ishikawa & Yoshitatsu defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya when Ishikawa pinned Higuchi with the Splash Mountain (12:24).
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – Belt Contra Dissolution: Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) defeated Kazuki Hirata, Naruki Doi & Shinya Aoki when Oishi pinned Hirata with an Egoist Driver Cutback (9:48).
*V4 for D.O.A. Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor must disband.
9. DDT Extreme Title – Painful Jungle Death Match: Shunma Katsumata (c) defeated Hideki Okatani with the Totonou Splash onto a Barbed Wire Board (13:38).
*V1 for Shunma Katsumata.
10. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino (c) defeated Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai when Endo pinned Honda with the Burning Star Press (16:57).
*V1 for BURNING.
11. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Takeshi Masada by Knockout with the Senpukyaku (4:22).
*V6 for MAO.
12. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Yuma Aoyagi with the Modified Falcon Arrow (19:16).
13. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated HARASHIMA with the WR (22:50).
*V3 for Yuki Ueno.

27 years of DDT called for another marathon show at Korakuen Hall to celebrate. 13 matches took place across almost 6 hours in front of a big crowd. The big bout at the end was Yuki Ueno moving past HARASHIMA in the latest defence of his KO-D Openweight Title reign. The match called for a big performance for the champion who wants to be established as DDT’s ace against the wrestler who himself is nicknamed “Mr. DDT” for his own dominance over the company throughout the years. Ueno did a Moonsault from one of the aisle entrance ways while back in the ring HARASHIMA did an Inverted Hurricanrana off of the top rope. More action took place out of the ring and almost ended Ueno’s reign but he returned at the 19 count. HARASHIMA hit the Somato but only got a two count with it. Another attempt was countered with Ueno’s big Dropkick and when Ueno gave him the WR, HARASHIMA had no answer for it and was pinned.

After the match Ueno hugged HARASHIMA and Kenta Kobashi handed the KO-D Title to him. Ueno talked about figuring out how to put his thoughts and feelings about his relationship with HARASHIMA into words. Today his heart feels full and satisfied because he got to have a big title match with HARASHIMA. He is sure HARASHIMA will continue to be an ace and they will often be opponents again in the future. But next time Ueno will be stronger and even a little more cocky. He thanked him for always being there.

Now Ueno turns his attention to his next defence. It is scheduled for 26th April in Sumida Ward General Gymnasium. There is one more important person Ueno wants to have a title match and that is DDT’s vice president Akito! Ueno ignored Akito’s objections and called him into the ring. Akito explained it’s not right for a wrestler in his position to take on such an important challenge. He also has not won any singles matches at all this year. Ueno agreed there are other more suitable challengers out there but none of them interest him more than Akito. He has a lot of jobs as vice president and Ueno argued that being a title challenger is one of them. Akito understood but warned the champion what could happen once his filter is switched off because there is nobody who thinks more about DDT than he does! Not Sanshiro Takagi, not Danshoku Dieno, not HARASHIMA and not Yuki Ueno! 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at work, at home, no matter where he travels to, it is Akito who devotes his life to the company. When DDT has good times he has good times too. When DDT has hard times he has hard times too. Akito is betting his entire life on DDT and will use all of his poison to erase Ueno’s brilliance!

Given this match was DDT against All Japan, you’d expect it would be Konosuke Takeshita coming out doing the wacky DDT entrance. Nope, it was Yuma Aoyagi who got into the swing of things riding to the ring on the Dramatic Dream bike and wearing a crazy looking helmet. The match itself was a smash with the two living up to expectations. Takeshita hit Aoyagi with the Jumping Knee and the Wagamama but it wasn’t enough to win. So he did the deal with the same Spinning Falcon Arrow he used to win a match in AEW earlier this week to get the same result here. Backstage Takeshita sent his thanks out to Aoyagi for accepting his invitation to do the match in DDT. Takeshita respects every wrestler from his generation no matter what company they work for and if possible would like to fight all of them. However he has something to do in America next so he has limited chances to wrestle again in Japan for the time being. He said it is up to his generation in Japan to liven up the wrestling world. Aoyagi called the match refreshing. He would like a rematch once every couple of years on a schedule similar to the Olympics. He also wants to fight other DDT wrestlers from his generation, like Yuki Ueno for example. But not now. Let him take a rest first.

It was a long show and time was not wasted in the DDT Universal Title match. Fueled by the recent criticisms aimed against him by the champion, Takeshi Masada attacked MAO before the bell with a Missile Dropkick. MAO responded with a Leapfrog Stunner over the ref and the match officially began from there. In the next four minutes MAO controlled the match and had an answer for most of what Masada threw at him. Masada got hit with big strikes but was determined to keep on fighting until he was hit with the Whirlwind Kick. Masada couldn’t return to his feet in time and was counted out. MAO quickly moved on and asked for who his challenger will be in America. An image flashed on the screen showing he will defend the Universal Title at Philadelphia on 4th April against Billie Starkz in a No Rules Match! MAO loves the Universal Title so much he will use it to set the whole world on fire!

There was another DDT Vs AJPW match on the card, this one had the KO-D Tag Team Titles on the line. The champions BURNING had been trying to sort themselves out lately over some miscommunication problems. New Period were coming over to be a big distraction for them, one that could see All Japan take over one of DDT’s main championships. The challengers even allegedly got in touch with Yoshihiko to learn what weaknesses of the champions they could exploit! However BURNING in the end got to show their problems with teamwork. In fact it was a missed double team from New Period that led to Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai hitting each other by accident. Later Yuki Iino charged towards Tetsuya Endo and Endo dropped down into the splits. Iino then jumped over him to Spear Honda! Endo then gave him the Torture Rack Bomb for a nearfall and finished him off with the Burning Star Press.

Endo declared the result a victory for BURNING and the KO-D Tag Titles still belong to them. However he admits it won’t be long until New Period’s time truly arrives. When that time does come Endo & Iino will want a rematch against them. Endo also told Honda it’s fine to use Yoshihiko but he has to return DDT’s property back to their office (later Honda and Yoshihiko got into a fight backstage bringing their short lived friendship to an end). BURNING’s next title defence will be at the 7th April Korakuen Hall show. Endo asked for Jun Akiyama to be one of the opponents because he wants to defend the title against him. Akiyama accepted but none of his regular partners are available at the moment. If he or DDT can find someone suitable to team with him he will do the title match on 7th April. Iino then tried to provoke Akiyama by doing the BURNING pose in front of him. Akiyama smiled, left the ring and did the same post in the dirction towards Kobashi at the commentary table. Endo told fans to look forward to the new BURNING, one without Akiyama or Kobashi in it!

The Painful Jungle Death Match lived up to its name, providing DDT with one of its most bloodiest matches in a while. Many sharp and piercing objects were placed in the ring along with some jungle looking items. For example there was a barbed wire board with a large snake toy caught on top of it. Shunma Katsumata and Hideki Okatani proceeded to throw and slam each other onto everything with the DDT Extreme Title at stake. Okatani couldn’t get the win with either the Double Arm Suplex or Quetzalcoatl. Instead Katsumata got the upper hand and won with the Totonou Splash while the snake and barbed wire board was placed on top of Okatani. The two embraced after the match and Katsumata thanked Okatani for giving him such an intense match. A video then played on the screen. It is a message sent by Hi69 from NOAH (or TEAM NOAH to be exact). He wants to challenge the Extreme Champion to a Hardcore Match for the title on 7th April! Katsumata is happy to hear Hi69 show interest but he does not know the first thing about the Extreme Title! The champion is supposed to make the rules, not the challenger. Katsumata accepted the challenge anyway.

Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor we hardly knew ye. They went up against D.O.A in a match that had both the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles on the line as well as the future of Kazuki Hirata’s new unit. Sadly for Hirata the match ended in tragedy when he gave Makoto Oishi the Egoist Driver but left himself open for Oishi to cradle him into a suddent defeat. Naruki Doi did not mind facing the consequences. He consoled Hirata over what happened and then told Shinya Aoki it was time for them to go home. However Hirata wanted to soak in the moment knowing it would be the last time Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor would all be together. Hirata gave a speech that made Doi become impatient but sent Aoki to the brink of tears. The three then stood together for a special dissolution ceremony which included the singing of the unit’s anthem plus a narrated history of the unit. All 22 days of it. Meanwhile backstage DAMNATION T.A attacked Makoto Oishi, demanding the next shot at the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles.

Does this kind of count as another DDT Vs AJPW match? Both Shuji Ishikawa & Yoshitatsu have called All Japan their home promotion up until very recently. They have since taken different paths away from there but those paths reunited them here for a match against two of DDT’s main heavyweights. Ishikawa had a handle of Kazusada Higuchi by the end of it. He blocked the Brain Claw Slam and turned it into the Fire Thunder for a nearfall. Ishikawa followed it up with the Kamigoye and Running Knee Strike for another two count before getting the victory by using the Splash Mountain. Yukio Naya didn’t want the fight to end though and stood toe to toe with Ishikawa afterwards. This won’t be the last we will see of Ishikawa in DDT this year. He is entering the King Of DDT tournament. He believes what he did today shows he is the only choice to win it. Both Naya & Higuchi are warning him not to mess with DDT’s heavyweight division.

The reason why DDT names its anniversary shows “JUDGEMENT” goes back to its very first show in 1997 where the audience in attendance back then judged whether or not Sanshiro Takagi and his crew would go ahead with running more shows. So it is only fitting that Takagi would himself judge whether or not Ken Ohka and Ganbare☆Pro are ready to go independent from CyberFight. GanPro’s next chapter begins in April and the entire group was in Korakuen to support Ohka at ringside while he fought his soon to be former employer. Ohka took a beating in the match and was almost counted out in the ring. But he got back to his feet all fired up, even giving Takagi a Stunner. Ohka then got the better of a strike exchange, knocking Takagi down with a Lariat. The opening was there and Ohka took it. He hit Takagi with the Spear Of Flame and beat his boss!

After the match an emotional Ohka said his life wouldn’t be like this if he never got involved with Takagi. He has changed Ohka’s life so much. Sometimes it was sad and painful but without Takagi, Ohka would not be so happy right now. From now on he will make GanPro a great wrestling company without the need to rely on Takagi and for that he thanks him. Takagi told Ohka he’s had a dramatic life but saying stuff like that makes it sound like Takagi was ruining his life! If that was true then he wouldn’t have a group of friends that all make up GanPro. Whatever happens in the future, Takagi wants to get with Ohka again whether it is to work together or fight each other. He then presented Ohka with a graduation certificate and told him to cherish his friends. Takagi hopes he will continue to give dreams to many people and have a more dramatic pro wrestling life than anyone else. Later Ohka told reporters he will continue with his goal to make pro wrestling into a major sport. Baseball has Shohei Ohtani, basketball has Michael Jordan, Formula 1 has Mika Häkkinen and football has Pelé. Ohka wants to become as great in wrestling as they are in their respective sports.

DAMNATION T.A’s path to a KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles shot started earlier in the show when they beat SCHADENFREUDE International. As always Antonio Honda was bothered by his trick knee but used Gongitsune to bounce back from it. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON hit him with the Freedom Call but CDK were there to break the pin. They got rid of Sasaki & MJ Paul but it turned out KANON could handle the 2 Vs 1 odds that were against him. The match came down to him against Honda and KANON countered the constant cradle pins into the Just Cobra Twist to make Honda submit.

Akito isn’t the only busy wrestler around here. Super Sasadango Machine has his own management problems to deal with and took valuable time out of his schedule to be at this show. So when he found out he wasn’t booked for a match despite being on the poster, Akito offered to fight him as an apology. Both of them have been feeling tired over work lately and Sasadango’s PowerPoint Presentation explained they were both going to wrestle at just 10% of their normal energy bar. However the presentation kept switching to a video of Akito being attacked backstage by all of the young DDT wrestlers so that was the actual reason why he made it to the ring in a tired state. When the match began it was as if Akito and Sasadango were already entering into the finishing stretch. Sasadango gave Akito the Lehmann Shock and went for the pin but before the count reached three everything froze. “Etuprika” began to play and the audience was shown a video of Akito’s inner monologue. Then in slow motion Akito kicked out, fought back and hit Sasadango so hard his mask peeled off. Akito slowly applied an Ankle Lock when time stood still again so everyone could hear Sasadango’s inner monologue. This time Sasadango spoke about how good and relaxed he felt. So much so that he fell asleep. Akito had run out of energy too so both men were practically out cold. Yukinori Matsui checked on both of them while they slept and had to rule the match a draw.

Did the world really need a face off between Gorgeous Matsuno and Shinichiro Kawamatsu? Well they got one. Matsuno’s offence was the weakest its been for a while even with Toru Owashi’s help. Things went from bad to worse when Keisuke Ishii got involved and did not hold back. When he lifted Matsuno up for the Double Arm Driver, Matsuno started to tap out. However the ref was standing on the other side and couldn’t see it so Ishii was free to drop him right onto the canvas for the win. Luckily Matsuno was not hurt too much. He returned at the very end of the show to sing everyone off.

Six of the young wrestlers entering the D GENERATIONS CUP were put in a 6-Man Tag together early in the show. To-y, Ilusion & Rukiya ended up beating Yuni, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi. It was also Koroku’s return match from injury but he took the losing fall to To-y in the end.

When Soma Takao had his debut match in DDT he won the bout with an Ultra Hurricanrana. So Tsubasa Suzuki trying to win his first DDT match as an intern with a Phoenix Splash isn’t that too outlandish. Too bad he missed his target. The match was going well for him up until then. He still had his wits about him to block the Gin And Tonic but Takao switched over to the Running Elbow Butt and then the Perfect Driver to win the match. He told reporters he could have used a traditional Crab Hold but he wanted to win with the finisher he used in his college club days. He is looking forward to the day Suzuki will beat him with the Phoenix Splash. Suzuki admits he is still weak and the difference between pro wrestling with student wrestling is like competing in a different sport. He hopes to grow into a stronger and better wrestler.

Keigo Nakamura appeared during the early portion of the show with some good news. He is returning to the ring on 26th April!

A guest wrestler was announced for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” on 21st July. It is the return of everyone’s amigo El Desperado!

The full list of entries for the King Of DDT was revealed. Entering the tournament are Poison Sawada JULIE, Sanshiro Takagi, Danshoku Dieno, HARASHIMA, Shuji Ishikawa, Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki, Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes, Yuki Ueno, MAO, Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya, KANON, Takeshi Masada and the D GENERATIONS CUP winner.


DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024” Results

February 25, 2024

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024”, 25/02/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,600 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda defeated Yuki Iino, Yuni & Ilusion when Brookes pinned Yuni with the Our Love Letter (8:48).
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Akito & Soma Takao when KANON pinned Takao after the Freedom Call (8:24).
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazuki Hirata, Naruki Doi & Shinya Aoki defeated Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Toru Owashi when Doi pinned Oishi with a Crucifix Pin (9:05).
4. Special Single Match: To-y defeated MJ Paul with a School Boy (7:12).
5. Kazusada Higuchi & Yoshitatsu defeated Yukio Naya & Rukiya when Higuchi pinned Rukiya with the Brain Claw Slam (10:58).
6. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Hikaru Machida with the Michinoku Driver II (14:27).
*V5 for MAO.
7. Kaisei Takechi Debut Match ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Kaisei Takechi defeated Tetsuya Endo, Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada when Ueno pinned Okatani with the BME (20:19).

Today’s DDT show was a little bit different than usual. The big attraction was the debut pro wrestling match of Kaisei Takechi, a member of a famous dance group in Japan called THE RAMPAGE, which itself is part of an entertainment collective called EXILE TRIBE. In 2022 Takechi took a role on a TV drama about wrestling called Fukumen D. That show featured involvement from DDT (represented on the show as a fictional company called BBT, Brave Battle Truth) and it led to the two sides coming up with this deal. The hype behind today’s debut led to best business DDT’s had at Korakuen Hall in years. Tickets had been sold out for weeks thanks to THE RAMPAGE fanbase buying them up to see Takechi’s big performance.

For the main event Takechi wanted to team with Yuki Ueno, the reigning KO-D Openweight Champion who coached him during training. He also wanted to be in the ring against wrestlers his own age so DDT decided the match would be Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Takechi against Tetsuya Endo, Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada. These are all wrestlers considered by DDT to be part of the same generation. Takechi got to get time fighting each one of his three opponents during the match. He also got moments to do double team moves with his tag partners. He was able to land a Diving Cross Body to Endo and slam Masada with a Full Nelson Buster. The finish however came down to Ueno pinning Okatani with the Best Moonsault Ever.

With his team declared the winners, Takechi loudly proclaimed after the match that pro wrestling is the best! He said the power of everyone who came to support him is amazing and inspired him to do even better. There is still a lot he would like to do inside the ring so if he ever gets another chance he will take it. He didn’t appreciate how Okatani treated him during the match so he would like to fight him again. There are 15 other members of THE RAMPAGE so he hopes any of the DDT Fans who are impressed with him will take up an interest in following the group. The same goes for any of THE RAMPAGE’s fans if they liked what they saw from DDT today. Ueno teased that perhaps one day Takechi will fight him for the KO-D Title but he’ll have to work a little harder to get there. So this might not be the last we will see of Kaisei Takechi in DDT!

MAO’s adventure with the DDT Universal Title took him over to fight against a high level kickboxer. Hikaru Machida. The two had unfinished business over a KO-D Tag Team Titles defence one year ago and Machida was looking to avenge losing that match. A battle of strikes broke out and then the two fought outside the ring over by one of Korakuen’s staircases. Machida hit his patented Iai Punch but MAO reached for the ropes to avoid getting pinned. MAO then used a Stunner to break out of the strikes and pinned Machida with the Michinoku Driver II to win.

MAO was full of praise for Machida and then called himself the best DDT Universal Champion ever. He announced his plans to defend the title at “DDT GOES PHILADELPHIA!” in America on 4th April. However Takeshi Masada suddenly entered the ring with his own idea. He wants to win the title from MAO before they go to America so Masada will be the champion in Philadelphia. MAO told Masada he only has one rule for this championship. He only wants challengers he feels comfortable entrusting the title with should they beat him for it. He thinks that is too high of a hurdle for Masada to climb but if the fans want to see the match, he will agree to do it at DDT’s 27th Anniversary show on 17th March.

Today is Rukiya’s 23rd birthday so he was eager to do his best in his tag match. Yoshitatsu patronised him by giving him a pat on the head and rubbing his hair. Yukio Naya played his part to keep Rukiya in the fight. He hit Kazusada Higuchi with a Knee Lift so Rukiya could then do the Proto Bomb but Yoshitatsu made it in to break the pin. Naya then had to break the pin when Higuchi gave Rukiya the Doctor Bomb. Rukiya used what energy he had left to throw Elbow Strikes until Higuchi knocked him down with a Lariat and pinned him with the Brain Claw Slam.

To-y was supposed to take on HARASHIMA but unfortunately the match was cancelled because HARASHIMA tested positive for covid over the weekend. MJ Paul became To-y’s new opponent and he attacked him with a chair outside the ring. To-y rebounded and had Paul on the ropes when the rest of DAMNATION T.A decided to interfere. Thankfully To-y had Katsumata in his corner and he stopped KANON from doing a chair attack. To-y then rolled up Paul with a School Boy during the chaos and got the 3 count for the upset victory.

While Jun Akiyama was away in America this weekend wrestling in AEW, the other two members of D.O.A teamed with Toru Owashi to take on Kazuki Hirata’s new unit. Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor’s first match together was a successful one and it was a win against two-thirds of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions! The non-wrestling fans in Korakuen were given an eyeful thanks to Danshoku Dieno pulling the back of his tights down and laying himself over the top turnbuckle. Even Toru Owashi went above expectations by using the Lip Lock on Naruki Doi. A lot of wrestlers got their faces pressed against Dieno’s butt until Doi trapped Makoto Oishi with a Crucifix Pin to win the match.

Doi admitted it is shocking that Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor won their first match and it ended with him pinning a champion. That means they should get the next shot at the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles! Oishi argued that he is the weakest wrestler in DDT so Doi shouldn’t be proud of the result. Doi disagreed because Hirata is the weakest. Oishi won’t accept the challenge unless the other team puts something on the line. Doi suggested his team put their hair on the line but Oishi refused because they all have short cuts. Oishi then offered to disband Zuncha♪Muscle Survivor if they lose. Oishi thinks that idea is too much but Doi said he would be happy with either winning the titles or breaking up the team he doesn’t even want to be part of. The challenge was accepted and will take place on 17th March. Later backstage Shinya Aoki made demands for a rematch with Chihiro Hashimoto. He lost to Hashimoto on a DDT show at the end of December 2022 and wants revenge! DDT later announced that match will go ahead at the 7th April Korakuen show.

DAMNATION T.A also used a chair as a weapon to help set up their win against Akito & Soma Takao. After a ref bump, Daisuke Sasaki kicked Takao below the belt and then hit both opponents with the chair. Then Sasaki & KANON gave Takao the Freedom Call for the tainted win.

SCHADENFREUDE International found a convoluted way to win the opening match. But before that happened Antonio Honda got to tell his latest Gongitsune joke and engage in a twisted nipple battle with Yuki Iino. Later Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi physically manipulated Yuni & Ilusion into doing a Rolling Cradle on each other. CDK then piled on top of them to score the pinfall.

After the match Brookes told the fans he had a present for them and it is a dramatic dream that involves a friend of his. Out walked Zack Sabre Jr. from New Japan down to the ring! He is here because he wants to have a match in DDT! Brookes asked him who he would like to face. Sabre said Yoshihiko and the Ladder. Unfortunately Yoshihiko’s asking price is too high and the Ladder he’s thinking of has been retired for years. Sabre then said he would like to fight two champions so how about Yuki Ueno & MAO? Brookes can even team with him so it can be a tag match! Ueno & MAO heard the challenge and came down to the ring to accept it. It will happen on the 7th April Korakuen show.

DDT announced the next KO-D Title match after 17th March will be at Sumida Ward General Gymnasium on 26th April. Also Konosuke Takeshita will appear at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” at Sumo Hall on 21st July.


DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN NAGOYA” Results

February 12, 2024

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN NAGOYA”, 12/02/2024
Aichi Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center
252 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. 3 Way Match: Shunma Katsumata defeated Kazuki Hirata and Toru Owashi when Katsumata pinned Hirata with a Backslide Pin (7:08).
2. Yuki Iino & Hideki Okatani defeated KANON & MJ Paul when Iino pinned Paul with the Low-Altitude Spear (10:32).
3. Nagoya Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshitatsu & Yukio Naya defeated Lowther, Jack Kennedy & Kazuma Sumi when Yoshitatsu pinned Sumi with the This Is My WWE (12:07).
4. HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Jun Akiyama & Rukiya when HARASHIMA pinned Rukiya with the Somato (12:08).
5. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Makoto Oishi with the Crossover Face Lock (10:58).
6. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Akito with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (10:24).
7. The 37KAMIINA Vs SCHADENFREUDE International!: Yuki Ueno & MAO defeated Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada when Ueno submitted Masada with the Twister (21:05).

Before the main event began MAO told Chris Brookes that the days of settling things in the ring are over. Today is the beginning of the era of outside the ring brawling! MAO showed what he meant by bringing out a kick scooter and using it to chase his opponents around ringside. Unfortunately the venue floor was covered in judo mats and MAO crashed his scooter by tripping over the edge of one. MAO then continued fighting with Brookes around the building including on top of a high pile of mats they found in a corner of the room. The two of them were at risk of getting counted out but the match was decided when Yuki Ueno used Cara Noir’s finisher the Blackout Sleeper on Takeshi Masada. Ueno then turned the move into the Twister hold to make Masada submit in the ring.

After the match MAO challenged Brookes to have their upcoming singles match on Wednesday take place completely outside of the ring! Brookes suggested the match should have a 30 count or even a 40 count for being outside. A fed up Yukinori Matsui told them a 10 count or even a 5 count is too long for them so they might as well make it a 3 count. MAO and Brookes both loved the idea and surprisingly agreed to it! Their match on Wednesday only needs 3 seconds outside the ring to make it end in a countout.

BURNING still has a misfiring problem. During Tetsuya Endo’s match with Akito the two of them fought on the ring apron with Yuki Iino standing nearby. Akito kicked Iino from the apron and lured him into a charge. Iino tried to swipe Akito’s legs with a Lariat but Akito hopped over him and Iino ended up clipping Endo by the feet instead. Endo recovered to beat Akito and he forgave Iino after the match. He figured out it was Akito’s strategy to make that happen so it wasn’t entirely Iino’s fault. Maybe it’s 30% or 40% his fault but that’s it. Endo’s solution is to have them switch things up so they can start building up momentum as the KO-D Tag Team Champions.

Yesterday Daisuke Sasaki declared he is moving on from the KO-D Tag Titles scene and will no longer lose any singles matches. He lived up to the claim by beating Makoto Oishi today but he still needed interference from KANON & MJ Paul to pull it off.

Yoshitatsu is one of Jack Kennedy’s mentors and praised him for fighting hard against Yukio Naya. He would like to face him again whether it is in DDT or anywhere else. Sanshiro Takagi said they should do that match in the Nagoya Dome!


DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN OSAKA” Results

February 11, 2024

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 11/02/2024
Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall
180 Fans

1. MJ Paul defeated Kazuma Sumi with the Running Body Press (4:23).
2. Osaka Specialty Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Hideki Okatani defeated Kazuki Hirata & Tsutenkakka when Okatani pinned Hirata with the Quetzalcoatl (10:32).
3. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu defeated Makoto Oishi with the This Is My WWE (8:42).
4. Sanshiro Takagi, Jun Akiyama & Toru Owashi defeated Kazusada Higuchu, Yukio Naya & Rukiya when Akiyama pinned Rukiya with the Running Knee Butt (10:04).
5. Special Single Match: MAO defeated Akito with a Wedding Clutch (11:45).
6. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino defeated HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada when Endo pinned Masada with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (14:55).
7. The 37KAMIINA Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata defeated Daisuke Sasaki & KANON when Katsumata pinned KANON with a Jackknife Pin (18:56).

The three champion members of The 37KAMIINA were all winners on today’s show. The main event had the KO-D Openweight Champion and DDT Extreme Champion defeat DAMNATION T.A together. Earlier on the show MAO defeated Akito in a match where the DDT Universal Champion could put on a strong display.

After the main event Daisuke Sasaki admits his group has fallen to the bottom and it may take a while for them to climb back up from there. But just because they lost today’s tag match does not mean they will lose any singles bouts from now on. Yuki Ueno noticed KANON is looking bigger and stronger than the last time he saw him but he looks a little more depressed too. He wonders if it’s because Sasaki & KANON lost the KO-D Tag Team Titles recently? Even if they aren’t they still wouldn’t have beaten Ueno & Shunma Katsumata today based on their team strength. That’s according to Ueno of course.

The Tag Titles now belong to BURNING but there is still a lot that Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino need to work on. Iino accidentally hit his partner with a Lariat during the match and was then scouted for the Spear when HARASHIMA countered the move with a mid-air Double Knee Drop landing on top of him. Endo was able to recover and pin Takeshi Masada, resulting in a close call for the champions. Endo told Iino that not everything will fall into place whenever the Spear hits its target. But he is confident they can iron out all of the misfires and perfect their teamwork in time for their title defence against New Period on 17th March.

Chris Brookes came up with a new way to fight against Kazuki Hirata’s dance moves. Just go over to the soundbooth and shut off the music! It is only a matter of time until that plan stops working though and Tsutenkakka held Brookes back outside the ring so Hirata could power up and dance again. That didn’t matter though because Hideki Okatani pinned him with the Quetzalcoatl anyway.


DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU” Results

February 7, 2024

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 07/02/2024
Shinjuku FACE
500 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata when Brookes pinned Hirata after the Thrust Kick/Praying Mantis Bomb Combo (6:47).
2. Jun Akiyama, Yoshitatsu & Soma Takao defeated Toru Owashi, Akito & Kazuma Sumi when Takao pinned Sumi with the Perfect Driver (9:09).
3. DDT Extreme Title Next Challenger Match – Hardcore Match: Hideki Okatani defeated MJ Paul with the Quetzalcoatl onto the Chairs (9:53).
4. Special Tag Match ~ DDT Vs AJPW: Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai defeated Takeshi Masada & Rukiya when Anzai pinned Rukiya with the German Suplex (12:40).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Makoto Oishi when Ueno submitted Oishi with a Dojime Sleeper Hold (12:27).
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino defeated Daisuke Sasaki & KANON (c) when Endo pinned Sasaki with the Burning Star Press (18:38).
*DAMNATION T.A fails in V1. BURNING becomes the 82nd KO-D Tag Team Champions!
7. Yukio Sakaguchi Retirement Match: HARASHIMA defeated Yukio Sakaguchi with the Somato (15:37).

Today Yukio Sakaguchi brought his pro wrestling career to an end after 12 years in the business. He spent almost the entire time of his wrestling life with DDT. Per his request the period of time between his announcement to the retirement match itself was a short one. He chose HARASHIMA as his final opponent and had his closest conifdents stand in his corner, including KUDO and Saki Akai. The result was obvious but with a little extra added to it. HARASHIMA hit the Somato but took too long to pin Sakaguchi leading to a one count kickout. Sakaguchi yelled at HARASHIMA to hit him with the move again which he did and that got HARASHIMA the 3 count. Yukinori Matsui raised both of their hands after the match and the two wrestlers hugged each other. HARASHIMA thanked Sakaguchi for nominating him as his last opponent. He praised Sakaguchi for always being in great condition and working hard right to the end. He is sad to see him go when he is still strong but understands it is the path Sakaguchi chose for himself. Sakaguchi said he wanted to win but he always knows HARASHIMA is there to protect DDT. He thought he was becoming DDT’s gatekeeper but he is granting that role back to HARASHIMA.

He then received a video message from his younger brother Kenji Sakaguchi. Kenji said Yukio was always into fighting ever since they were children. He thought it took a lot of courage for Yukio to become a second generation pro wrestler but he was able to leave a mark and made a lot of fans happy. The time they stood in the ring together at Sumo Hall is a memory that will last a lifetime. Later backstage Yukio told reporters he also got a rare phonecall from his father Seiji Sakaguchi during the morning.

Yukio then thanked the fans because so many of them came to see his retirement match on a weekday. He is grateful to the fans that supported him. Even though he will now no longer wrestle, there are still the other wrestlers in DDT who do their best and deserve support. The show ended with the locker room throwing Sakaguchi into the air in celebration and him shaking all of their hands afterwards. There was no 10 bell salute because Sakaguchi asked for there not to be one.

The new BURNING team of Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino have won the KO-D Tag Team Titles! They defeated their arch enemies in DAMNATION T.A to do it. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON tried using their new Freedom Call tag finisher on Endo but Iino broke the pin. Sasaki then tried pinning Endo with the Sasaki Hurricanrana but he left himself vulnerable to get hit with the Spear from Iino. Endo then took over with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb and followed up with the Burning Star Press for the title change.

Iino thanked Endo for the success and he now feels like they can go anywhere as the tag champions. They welcome any challenge from any challengers and will not turn anyone down. Those comments made New Period walk down to the ring. The All Japan team of Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai beat Takeshi Masada & Rukiya earlier in the show. They enjoyed the match so much it makes them want to take on more stronger DDT teams so they challenged BURNING to a title match. Endo accepted and warned that they are yet to experience the depth of DDT. He & Iino will take them even deeper. The title match will take place at “JUDGEMENT 2024” in Korakuen Hall on 17th March. But before that happens there will be a DDT Vs AJPW 6-Man Tag Match on 6th March. Endo, Iino & Rukiya will face New Period & Ryo Inoue.

On short notice the No. 1 Contender match for the DDT Extreme Title was held under Hardcore rules. Hideki Okatani and MJ Paul brawled in and out of the ring with chairs, garbage cans and kendo sticks. Okatani got the upper hand by Power Bombing Paul from the corner through a table. He then used the chairs to hit Paul with the Mammoth Home Run before using the Quetzalcoatl to slam him on top of more chairs for the win. Okatani said he couldn’t lose today because he needs to fight Shunma Katsumata for the Extreme Title again. He’s been waiting for it to happen ever since their previous title match together. Kasumata was happy to hear that and admitted he’s been thinking of Okatani all this time too. Their title match will happen in Korakuen on 17th March and Katsumata is excited to have a fun match with Okatani under rules both will appreciate.

Ken Ohka got into the ring after the second match to tell the audience in person about Ganbare☆Pro will be going independent from CyberFight at the end of March. But before that happens there is one person Ohka really wants to fight at DDT’s 27th Anniversary show on 17th March. He wants a match with the CyberFight president Sanshiro Takagi! Ohka explained that Takagi is like a father to him and he must defeat his “father” before he leaves the family home! Takagi said this match may be the last time they will be in the ring together because he will be taking a break from being a pro wrestler after July. It is hard work running a wrestling company especially when you do it by yourself but if Ohka is determined then he will do his best. But if he does this half-heartedly then Takagi will destroy him! Ohka promised to beat Takagi and make GanPro bigger than DDT!

A “No Spoiler” show will be held at Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market on 21st April. People attending the show are prohibited from posting about it on social media while it is happening. DDT is also holding a collaborated show with the Zeekstar Tokyo handball team in Sumida from 25th to 27th April.